Top 10: White Rappers

With the recent release of Asher Roth’s hit debut and Eminem’s long-awaited return, being white in the hip-hop world is no longer a joke. It’s also not a linear genre where every artist is trying to sound like Slim Shady. The styles vary from Asher Roth’s frat-core party beats to the nerd-core rhymes of MC Chris and MC Paul Barman; to dirty girls like Princess Superstar and Lady Sovereign; to the MTV-friendly sounds of $hamrock. There’s the narrative style of The Streets, the intelligent rap of Eyedea & Abilities, the crazy dirty of RA Rugged Man, and the old-school flavor of Baba Israel and Rabbi Darkside (who taught rap on MTV’s MADE). Famous collectives have included white rappers like Evidence in Dilated Peoples and Remedy in Wu Tang Clan. There’s even an all-white hip-hop collective named Sweatshop Union making noise in Canada.

The point is that white rappers are large and diverse, because of that, lists like these often piss off some readers. These artists were chosen by a mixture of criteria: influence, ability, record sales, longevity, uniqueness, and the overall awesome factor.